Hopes to Join Dale Earnhardt Sr. & Pete Hamilton To Win Three of Four “Super” Superspeedway Races in a Single Season
TALLADEGA, AL – Already in the elite company of legendary drivers who have tasted a great deal of success at Talladega Superspeedway, Brad Keselowski will be chasing more history when he gets behind the wheel of his No. 2 Team Penske Ford for the Alabama 500, Sunday, Oct. 23. And, in doing so, he could punch his ticket to the Round of 8 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Keselowski earned his fourth career Talladega trophy in May with a GEICO 500 triumph, tying him for fourth on the track’s all-time win list with celebrated, historical names in the sport of NASCAR – Bobby Allison, the leader of the famed Alabama Gang, and Buddy Baker, the Gentle Giant who drove wide open each and every lap. Keselowski now only trails Dale Earnhardt Sr. (10), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6) and Jeff Gordon (6) in total Talladega victories.
With a victory in the Alabama 500, he could join a very select group – Earnhardt Sr. (1990) and Pete Hamilton (1970) – as the only drivers in NASCAR history to win three of the four races run at NASCAR’s “Super” Superspeedways – Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway – in a single season. After a 20th place effort in the season-opening Daytona 500, he went on a tear, winning the GEICO 500 (after leading the final 17 laps) and then the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Does he have a shot at it making it three out of four? His confidence says yes.
“What can I say? Talladega has been good to me,” says Keselowski, who is helping celebrate Penske Racing’s 50th anniversary this year. “Winning four times means a lot here. Talladega has been a track for us that’s been a great catalyst for success. I don’t know why that is. It’s a track where if you’re capable of winning here, I think you show a certain level of attitude and swagger that carries your way through the rest of the year. It’s just there in general.
“This track means a lot to me, a real lot. The fans who come here are diehard fans and I love to win in front of them. Sometimes we run here and it’s crazy side-by-side, wreck ’em up, flip ’em. As a racer or driver, you have to be prepared either way to take advantage of a situation. I think that’s kind of the allure to coming here because you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
The Alabama 500 will be the third and final race in the Round of 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup where the field will be cut from 12 drivers eligible for the title down to eight. No matter where he is in the title standings heading into Talladega, Keselowski, one of the 12 drivers vying for the title in 2016, will bring that swagger with him like he did two years ago when he was faced with a “must-win” or “be eliminated” situation in the Chase. The result was his third trip to the TSS Gatorade Victory Lane.
“This is the best show on Earth,” Keselowski said of Talladega. “It’s NASCAR racing at its finest. Talladega has a special place in my heart. My first career win here (2009 for independent car owner James Finch) helped propel my NASCAR career at the highest level (signed with Team Penske for 2010 season), giving me confidence and a source of momentum.”
The result of that confidence is more than 20 victories and the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. And, he says, there is room for another piece of Talladega hardware for his mantle, which would mean putting him into the “legend” category at Talladega. After all, a win would mean his fifth victory at the 33-degree banked facility, a chance to join Earnhardt Sr. and Hamilton in the history books, and a guaranteed trip to the Round of 8 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Talladega Superspeedway’s action-packed weekend kicks off on Friday (Oct. 21) with practice sessions for both the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race and the Alabama 500. Later in the evening, a one-of-a-kind party, “The Big One on the Blvd,” is scheduled to start its festivities at 6:30 p.m. (CDT) at the heart of the infamous infield – Talladega Blvd. Saturday’s schedule includes qualifying for the NCWTS fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (9:30 a.m. CDT), the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola (the Round of 8 Elimination race in the NCWTS Chase), which gets the green flag at 12 Noon CDT, and Foodland/Food Giant Qualifying for the NSCS (3:00 p.m. CDT). Saturday night, Jerrod Niemann will headline the traditional Infield Concert and well-known country music singer, Tim Dugger, is set to start the show at 7:15 p.m. (CDT) before giving way to the popular DJ Michaelis. The Alabama 500 is set for a 1:00 p.m. (CDT) start on Sunday, Oct. 23.
About Talladega Superspeedway
NASCAR speeds back into action at Talladega Superspeedway Oct. 21-23 for double elimination Chase weekend. Sunday’s Alabama 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event is the Round of 12 elimination race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup where the title contenders will be reduced from 12 to eight at the checkered flag. Saturdays’ fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola is the third and final race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase in which only six competitors will advance for the championship at the event’s conclusion. NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track (record 88 lead changes in 188 laps), with the circuit’s steepest banking (33 degrees) and longest distance (2.66 miles), is the most fun and fan-friendly, offering up hundreds of acres of free camping, amazing kids’ ticket prices and special offers for military members and college students. Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s “Party Capital” thanks to the track’s infamous infield, which features the traditional Saturday Night concert and the world-renowned Talladega Blvd, home of the Friday evening “Big One on the Blvd” party. The historic venue features the most comfortable seats in motorsports, large video viewing boards lining the frontstretch and endless activities for fans throughout its event weekends. Log on to www.talladegasuperspeedway.
